I met the Wholphin staff at IDFA, and I have to admit to being a bit skeptical and dragging my feet in investigating it - it is a DVD magazine, but there isn’t really much writing; rather it’s a collection of short films strung together by programmer Brent Hoff’s thoughts in a brief introduction. Emily Doe kindly sent me a copy of the latest issue, but since I only just got a new battery for my laptop, did I catch up on it during my daily commute.

What a treat! The films on Wholphin 03 are a combination of old (Alexander Payne’s student thesis film, The Passion of Martin) to recently released treasures (A Stranger in Her Own City by Khadija Al-Salami). The DVD is lovingly produced by people who obviously want to package these treasures in a way that befits them.

And to whet your appetite for their product, Wholphin is traveling with its shorts to festivals and also has some web-only content in a section called the “Screening Room” (Joe Swanberg’s Thanks for the ADD - which you should watch to get excited about Hannah Takes The Stairs premiering at SXSW). At $40 for a year subscription (4 discs), Wholphin is a steal!

If you are a filmmaker, you can submit your film for consideration. Details here.